Machine tools and more particularly to data-controlled machine tools

ABSTRACT

Eleven embodiments of machine tool particularly intended for data-control are disclosed. A rotating workpiece is moved in relation to a lathe tool which is stationary during cutting. Tools such as drills are also provided for working on the end face of the workpiece. In some embodiments the workpiece is movable in two directions mutually perpendicular to its rotational axis as well as along that axis. In some embodiments the machine may act as a milling, drilling or boring machine as well as a lathe. In some embodiments the rotatable workpiece holder may be replaced by a tool holder.

United States Patent 1 1 Williamson et al.

MACHINE TOOLS AND MORE PARTICULARLY TO DATA- CONTROLLED MACHINE TOOLSInventors: David T. N. Williamson; James Moifat Hutchison; Kenneth C.Wilson, all of London, England; Charles Henri Kahn; Leon Fayolle, bothof Paris, France Assignee:

Molins Machine Co., Limited, Deptford, London, England; by saidl-lutchison, Williams and Wilson Filed:

Sept. 30, 1970 Appl. No.: 77,029

Related US. Application Data Continuation of Ser. No. 774,545, Nov. 8,1968, abandoned, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 611,708, Jan. 5,1967, abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 567,243,July 22, 1966,

abandoned.

Foreign Application Priority Data Jan. 28, 1966 Feb. 3, 1966 Feb. 4,1966 June 17, l966 July 14, 1966 US. Cl

Great Britain ..3,997/66 Great Britain..... ...4,845/66 Great Britain..5,059/66 Great Britain..... ..27,l48/66 Great Britain ..31 ,722/661451 Jan. 16, 1973 [58] Field of Search ..29/27; 82/28; 90/20; 408/35[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,634,534 7/1927 Brewer..s2/3ox FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 122,274 1/1919 Great Britain..9o/20 650,469 2/1951 Great Britain ..90/2o Primary Examinen-Francis S.Husar Attorney-Emory L. Groff and Emory L. Groff, Jr.

[5 7 ABSTRACT Eleven embodiments of machine tool particularly intendedfor data-control are disclosed. A rotating workpiece is moved inrelation to a lathe tool which is stationary during cutting. Tools suchas drills are also provided for working on the end face of theworkpiece. In some embodiments the workpiece is movable in twodirections mutually perpendicular to its rotational axis as well asalong that axis. in some embodiments the machine may act as a milling,drilling or boring machine as well as a lathe. In some embodiments therotatable workpiece holder may be replaced by a tool holder.

89 Claims, 27 Drawing Figures PATENTEUJAHBlBIS 3.710.466

SHEET DEUF 13 IHI I L' ,5 .Jhyalle,

PATENTEDJAN 16 I973 3. 7 1 0.466 SHEET D S 0F 13 wax PATENTEDJAN 16 I975SHEET OBUF 13 U my 2 7 .2 2x5 1 PATENTEDJM 16 an SHEET 09 0F 13PATENTEDJAN 16 [97s SHEET 13 HF 13 INVE/VTGKS DAVID TN- WILunmsou H01.(7, @M Mn. 1 M

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is acontinuation of application Ser. No. 774,545 filed Nov. 8, 1968, nowabandoned, which in turn is a continuation of application Ser. No.611,708 filed Jan. 5, 1967, now abandoned, which is in turn acontinuation-in-part of our copending Application Ser. No. 567,243 filedJuly 22, 1966, now abancloned.

This invention concerns improvements relating to machine tools and moreparticularly to data-controlled machine tools.

The term a data-controlled machine tool is intended to mean a machinetool in which adesired relative motion is produced between a workpieceand a cutting tool under the control of information supplied to acontrol unit (e.g. the information may be recorded on punched ormagnetic tape or supplied by a computer) in such manner as to berepeatable for successive components of a batch but rapidly changeableupon completion of each batch of like components.

Despite recent developments in forging, extrusion, powder metallurgy,electro-chemistry, high-energyrate forming and other methods, the mostimportant engineering processes involved in the manufacture ofcomponents, certainly in small batches of, say, 100 or less, are metalcutting processes, e.g. milling, turning, or other conventional ways ofphysically removing unwanted material.

It is well appreciated that the conventional lathe is a relativelyinefficient piece of apparatus. It performs its function reasonablywell, i.e. with the aid of a variety of cutting, drilling and boringtools, it transfers a crude piece of material, usually metal, into adesired shape within the limits dictated by the skill of the operatorand its own design performance. However its lack of efficiency can bestbe expressed by stating that in proportion to the time it stands idlewithout any material removal taking place, its actual cutting time islow. Efficiencies are generally measured in terms of floor to floortimewhich is the total elapsed period between the mofnent a specificworkpiece or the first of a batch of workpieces is lifted from the floorfor insertion into the lathe and the moment when the complete componentor portion of the component or the last of the' batch of components isremoved from the lathe to be returned to the floor. For conventionalhand-operated lathes, the efficiency, i.e. proportion of total cuttingtime to floor to floor time is -15 percent. The remainder of the time islost in a series of necessary but slow manual operations, such as fixingthe workpiece to the lathes headstock, tool setting and changing,interpreting drawings and reading dials, verniers, micrometers, clockgauges etc. Similar considerations apply to other machine tools such asmilling machines.

To improve efficiencies and to increase accuracy by the elimination ofmanual limitations, numerically controlled lathes have been proposed andused. In these machines the tool and its carrying mechanism, i.e. thecarriage or saddle and the slides, are controlled and operated byactuators or leadscrews in response to signals originating from aprogramme fed into a control unit. The efficiency, measured in the sameterms as the figures previously quoted, of existing numericallycontrolled lathes is of the order of 30 percent, or at least twice asgood as that of manually operated machines, while the accuracy of workis considerably enhanced.

The generation of form by means of a lathe is based on geometricfundamentals. When cutting tools are used, whether external or forinternal boring, material is removed from the workpiece in one planeonly. This is designated the cutting plane". The tip of the tool 0 canonly move in this plane but can move freely into every part of a finitearea of it, the shape and extent of the area being dependent on thedesign of the lathe itself, i.e. its length between centers; cross-slidetravel etc. By interposing a workpiece so that its surface intersectsthe cutting plane the tool tip now has its freedom of movementrestricted thereby. If the workpiece is then rotated, conditions existby which metal can be removed by the tool tip from the workpiece, thismetal removal always being in the cutting plane. It therefore followsthat the axis of rotation of the workpiece must also lie in the cuttingplane since, if it did not, there would always remain a volume ofmaterial which the tool tip could never reach. If, for instance, thetool tip were to be positioned, say, 2 mm lower than the cutting planethen it would be possible to carry out all cutting operations on theworkpiece outside a cylinder of 4 mm diameter. Such a machine too] wouldhardly be practicable but even less practicable would be the fact thatneither a parting tool not a drill could be used on a machine with sucha configuration. For normal lathes, i.e. center lathes, capstans, turretlathes, profile lathes, automatic lathes etc., this plane is generallyhorizontal. However in certain automatic lathes the cutting plane may beat an inclined angle and in certain machines cutting is carried out bymore than one tool operating simultaneously. In this case metal removalwill take place in more than one plane with all the planes intersectingthrough the axis of the workpiece.

It will therefore be seen that for any position of the workpiece axisthere exists numberless potential cutting planes all intersecting onthat axis. If the workpiece axis were to be horizontally rotatable therewould then come into existence for each new position a new family ofpotential cutting planes. There are, in fact, an infinity of suchpotential planes. To change a potential plane into an actual cuttingplane it is only necessary to introduce a tool tip. Thus a finitecutting plane is a plane having boundaries dependent on the actualconfiguration of the machine tool and defined as being that planecontaining the workpiece axis and at least one cutting tool tip.

In what follows, where the expression finite cutting plane is used it isto be interpreted as having the, above definition. The invention howeveris not limited to lathes as normally understood but applies to othermachine operations such as milling, boring, grinding and drilling.

According to the present invention there is provided a machine tool inwhich material is removed from a rotating workpiece by a tool comprisinga rotatable workpiece holder, means to cause said holder to move in twoorthogonal directions so that the geometric center of the workpiece canmove to and remain in each and every point of a finite cutting planewhich is defined by the workpiece axis and the tool tip, the toolremaining fixed during the period of material removal.

The means to cause said workpiece holder to move may additionally causesaid workpiece holder to move in a third orthogonal direction so thatthe workpiece holder is movable into any selected cutting plane and ismovable in two orthogonal directions in any selected cutting plane.

Further according to the invention there is provided a data-controlledmachine tool comprising a workpiece holder, means to rotate saidworkpiece holder, mounting means for a plurality of tools, means tocause said holder to move in two orthogonal directions so that thegeometric center of the workpiece can move to and remain in each andevery point of a finite cutting plane which is defined by the work-pieceaxis and the tool tip, and automatic control means responsive to a datainput for selecting one of the tools to be used with the workpiece andfor controlling movement in the two orthogonal directions in theselected cutting plane defined by the axis of the workpiece and the tipof the selected tool.

The means to select one of the tools may cause the workpiece holder tomove in a third orthogonal direction into the selected cutting plane.

Batch production is generally accomplished today by issuing componentsinto manufacture on an operation basis, i.e. the work to be done issplit down into separate operations, sometimes involving as many astwenty operations for one part. Each of these may involve transferringthe part from one machine tool or process to another and then to a thirdand fourth and so on, but even when many of the operations are confinedto one machine, changes in the set-up or position of the workpiece canbe frequent. These changes in set-up result in the machine tool notcutting during the change-over period so that the ratio of cutting timeto total working time is of the order of -20 percent. Where thecomponent moves from machine to machine the situation may be far worse.Even with good organization it is rarely possible to manage a largeengineering shop so that components spend less than a day betweenoperations. Frequently this period may be nearer to one week. Even withonly a few operations, the queueing problems associated with machineloading lead to a total manufacturing cycle which in some circumstancescan be between 3 months and 6 months.

The number of components forming a workpiece float or work in progressmay be extremely high, in some cases as high as one million, and thismay be the minimum necessary with current production control methods tomaintain stability and give good machine loading. Such work-in-progressrepresents a large investment inpartly finished material as well asserious delay in delivery times. An extremely complex and expensiveproduction control system is required to progress the work fromoperation to operation and, although a computer can be used to improvethe situation, such measures are no more than a palliative which doeslittle to remove the main disadvantages of the system.

Consequently an object of the invention is to provide a machine toolbetter adapted to the manufacture of small batches of machinedcomponents.

Some of the tools may be disposed on the faces of a block member opposedto the holder, said member being pivotable so as to present each of itsfaces separately to the holder while other of said tools may be disposedradially of said axis.

The workpiece holder may be adaptable to grip a tool in place of theworkpiece, or be replaceable by a tool holder, and at least one face ofthe block may be adapted to carry a plurality of tools from which thetoolholder can select and withdraw a 'tool, datuming means to cause thetoolholder to grip the selected tool firmly with its free end at apredetermined distance from the holder, and workpiece holding means on aface of the block member which can be opposed to the toolholder for theselected tool gripped in the toolholder to remove material from theworkpiece also being provided.

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference tothe accompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a numerically controlled lathe accordingto the invention,

FIG. 2 is a plan view of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a second embodiment,

FIG. 4 is a side view of FIG. 3,

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic showing of the arrangement of part of theembodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4,

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic showing of the arrangement of a further part ofthe embodiment of FIGS. 3 and 4,

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic arrangement of a third embodiment,

FIG. 8 is a section on lines VIII-VIII of FIG. 7,

FIG. 9 is a section on lines IXIX of FIG. 7,

FIG. 10 is an arrangement of a fourth embodiment,

FIG. 11 is an arrangement of a fifth embodiment,- I

FIG. 12 is a detail of a drive mechanism,

FIG. 13 is a diagrammatic side view of a sixth embodiment of theinvention,

FIG. 14 is a section on the line XIIII-XIIII of FIG. 13,

FIG. 15 is a diagrammatic view of a seventh embodiment of the invention,

FIG. 16 is a diagrammatic view of an eighth embodiment of the invention,

FIG. 17 is a side elevation of a ninth embodiment of the invention,

FIG. 18 is a section on the line XVIIIXVIII of FIG. 19,

FIG. 19 is a plan view of the ninth embodiment,

FIG. 20 is a side elevation of a tenth embodiment of the invention,

FIG. 21 is a plan view of FIG. 20,

FIG. 22 is an end elevation in the direction of the arrow XXII in FIG.20,

FIG. 23 is a detail of a pallet and tools drawn to a different scale tothat shown in FIGS. 20, 21 and 22,

FIG. 24 is a perspective view of an eleventh embodiment of theinvention,

FIG. 25 is a plan view of a further embodiment of a numericallycontrolled lathe shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 26 is a diagrammatic view of a further embodiment of the inventionshown in FIG. 16; and

FIG. 27 is a perspective view of the further embodiment of a numericallycontrolled lathe shown in FIG. 25.

In FIG. 1, a workpiece l is held in a chuck 2 which is fixed to aspindle 3. The spindle 3 rotates within a quill 4 which is slidable inan axial direction i.e. along the lathe's X axis, within a headstock 5.The spindle 3 is driven by a hydraulic motor or other suitable means,

while the axial movement of the quill 4 is effected by a hydraulic orelectrically operated actuator. The hydraulic motor and actuator areboth contained within the headstock 5 and thus cannot be seen in eitherFIG. 1 or FIG. 2. The actuator holds the quill 4 in any selectedposition relative to the headstock 5, and, therefore, at any desiredposition along the machines X axis.

The X axis is defined as the axis of the lathe, i.e. along its bed. TheY axis then becomes a vertical axis perpendicular to the X axis whilethe Z axis is perpendicular to both X and Y axes and is in the directionof the tool feed in a conventional center lathe. When X, Y and Z axesare referred to hereinafter, they are to be taken as having the abovemeanings.

The headstock 5 has a degree of freedom of movement in a verticaldirection being movable up and down a slide 6 on the frame 7 of thelathe. This movement can be achieved in any convenient way, i.e. by ahydraulic actuator or by a mechanical linkage such as a nut andleadscrews. Whatever method is used, the actuator is capable of holdingthe headstock 5 in any desired position along the lathes Y axis (i.e.vertically).

An arm 8 of the frame 7 carries a vertical column, the top part only ofwhich can be seen in FIG. 1, about which is pivotable a toolstoreindicated generally by reference numeral 9. The tool store 9consists of four separate magazines 10, 11, 12 and 13, arranged inpairs, 10 and 11 being one pair and 12 and 13 the other. Of each pairone magazine 11 and 13 contains cutting tools while the other 10 and 12contains drills, boring tools, reamers, etc. i.e. those tools which,like drill 14, are used for metal removal from the end face 15 of theworkpiece 1. The tool store 9 canbe locked in two positions. Oneposition is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 in which the magazines 10 and 11 aredirected towards the workpiece 1. The tool store 9 is rotated through180 to the other position so that the other pair of magazines 12 and 13are directed towards the workpiece.

The tools carried in the magazines l1 and 13 are adapted for cuttingfrom underneath the workpiece in the manner disclosed in copendingWilliamson et. al. US. application Ser. No. 596,323 filed Nov. 22, 1966,now US. Pat. No. 3,472,103, so that during a turning operation theholding and reaction forces acting on the tool produce a resultant forceso directed that tool vibration exerted thereby is predominantlylongitudinal vibration. Preferably, an elongated tool is employed and isarranged so that the longitudinal axis of the tool extends substantiallyparallel to a tangent to the surface of the workpiece time turnedthrough the point of contact between the tool and the workpiece, a tipbeing embedded in the side of the tool. Alternatively, the cutting tipmay be sited on the longitudinal axis of the tool, and the tool is somounted that its axis coincides with the line of action of the resultantof the holding and reaction forces. Thus to remove metal from thecylindrical surface of the workpiece l the headstock 5 one pair may beserviced by replacing worn tools or tool tips, tool changing, etc.while: the other pair is in the operative position. in relation to theworkpiece. Thus the magazines 10 and 11 can be in use while themagazines 12 and 13 are readily available for servicing.

Operation of the lathe is controlled from a console which is not shownbut which conforms generally to that now universally known as numericalcontrol. In this a command signal originating from a programmed input isissued to the actuators, to the tool store, to the spindle drive unitand to any other part of the mechanism formerly manually controlled.This signal is compared with a feedback signal dependent on the actualperformances of the actuator, unit, etc. commanded. Any differencebetween the two signals then forms the basis of the next command signal.Such is a well proved system and any adaptation of it using, forinstance, potentiometers, synchros, diffraction gratings, etc. can beused in the control of this lathe.

In FIGS. 3 and 4 a second embodiment of a numerically controlled latheis shown diagrammatically. This consists of a frame 21 having a gap 22between two parts of the frame. On one side of the gap 22 is theheadstock portion 23 of the frame and on the other the tool carryingportion 24. On the headstock portion 23 is mounted a quill 25 which ismovable along the Y and Z axes of the machine, being mounted on a plate26. Within the quill 25 is a spindle 27 which together with the quill 25can move axially, i.e. along the X axis of the lathe. The spindle 27 hasfixed to it a chuck 28 to which is held workpiece 29.

The tool carrying portion'24 of the frame 21 is U shaped in plan view,see FIG. 3. At the ends of the arms of the U there are mounted toolmagazines 30 and 31. Each of these is in the form of a rotatableindexable dischaving cutting tools mounted around its periphery. Eachdisc holds 12 tools or tool tips and can be locked in position so thatany of these twelve tools can be directed towards the workpiece. Inaddition the portion 24 is provided with two other magazines 32 and 33,these being disposed in a plane transversely of that of the cutting toolmagazines 30 and 31 and being filled with drilling and boring tools.

Operation of the lathe is controlled from a numerical control consoleNCC. Command signals for operation of the lathe originate from aprogrammed input in the console. With respect to the four connections onthe left in FIG. 3, connection 46A carries the control signals directedto the motor 46 (FIG. 12), connection 26A carries the control signalsfor controlling rotation of the plate 26, connection 25A carries thecontrol signals for controlling movement of the quill 25, and connection27A carries the signals for controlling rotation of the spindle 27. Thetwo connections 46A and 26A collectively control movement'in the X and Ydirections, while the connection 25A controls movement in the Zdirection.

The other four connections 30A, 32A, 31A and 33A carry control signalsto control rotation of the tool turrets 30, 32, 31 and 33 respectively.Consequently, they control tool selection.

In FIG. there is shown a diagrammatic view of the plate 26 as seen whenlooking along the X axis of the lathe. Mounted within the plate 26 is anouter eccentric member 34, which is held rigidly away from the plate 26by hydrostatic bearings 35. The member 34 is rotatable in eitherdirection. An inner eccentric member 36'is eccentrically mounted withinthe outer member 34 from which it too is rigidly held by hydrostaticbearings 37. The inner member 36 is also rotatable in either directionwhile both members are geared together as will be described later inrelation to FIG. 12, but they could be independently driven.Eccentrically mounted within the inner member 36 is the quill 25 whichis separated therefrom by hydrostatic bearing 38. The quill 25 is notrotatable but has an ability to move along the lathes X axis as alreadydescribed. Finally concentrically mounted within the quill 25 is thespindle 27 which is separated therefrom by hydrostatic bearings 39 andwhich is rotatable therein. Point 40 is the center of the member 34; 41the center of the member 36 and 42 the center of the quill 25. If thedistance between the points 40 and 41 is equal to the distance betweenthe points 41 and 42 it is possible for the point 42 to move in astraight horizontal line by rotating the disc 34 in one direction whilethe disc 36 is rotated in the opposite direction.

43 and 44 are guides fixed to the plate 26. 45 is a sliding member whosemovement is restricted to sliding between the guides 43 and 44. Thesliding member 45 is also attached to the quill 25 in such a way as toprevent the latter rotating i.e. by means of a slot not shown. FIG. 12shows how the drive is effected. A motor 46 which may be hydraulicdrives pinions 47 and 48 which engage respectively with an internal gear49 on outer member 34 and an external gear 54 on inner member 36. Thearrangement is such that both the members 34 and 35 are rotated withequal angular velocity though in opposite directions. The result isstraight line motion for the quill 25. By fixing the plate 26 to arotatable member within the headstock portion 23, the guides 43 and 44which are fixed to the plate 26 can be rotated into any desiredposition. Thus the sliding member 45 can have its linear movementdirected along any desired axis and, therefore, along any desiredcutting plane.

Provided that the members 34 and 36 have the same eccentricities, andare rotated in opposite directions at equal angular velocities, asdescribed above, then the required straight line motion is obtainedwithout the guides 43 and 44, although the guides may be desirable forother considerations.

If the members 34 and 36 are not geared together, but are independentlydriven, as mentioned earlier, then the straight line motion need not beproduced in moving the workpiece holder from one position to anotherposition in a plane transverse to the axes of the shaft 27. However, thestraight line motion will be produced whenever and so .long as themembers 34 and 36 are rotated at equal angular velocities in oppositedirections. In order to move the workpiece holder from one position toanother position in a plane transverse to the axis of the shaft 27 thetotal angular rotation of each of the members 34 and 36 will be the samewhether the straight line motion is produced or not.

FIG. 6 shows the arrangement of one of the magazines, 30, in whichcutting tools are stored. The magazine 30 comprises a disc which isrotatable about a spindle 51. The disc is provided with 12 recesses 52into each of which a tool tip 53 is set..Each tip 53 may differ from theothers in the magazine and can thus be used to perform a differentcutting function on the workpiece 29. The disc 51 is rotated until therequired cutting tip 53 comes into the cutting plane when the disc islocked in position. The workpiece 29 is then advanced to the cutting tipand material removing operations can begin.

By arranging cutting tool storage in two magazines 30 and 31 with theboring tools and drills in two other magazines 32 and 33, materialremoval operations can be carried out with one magazine of each pairwhile the other magazines are being serviced either removal of tips andtools which have worn or by the setting up of different tools and tipsrequired for the following batch processing.

A further embodiment is shown in FIGS. 7, 8 and 9. The machine frame isagain divided into two portions head stock 61 carrying'a quill 62 and atool portion 63 carrying six cutting tip discs 64, 65, 66, 67, 68 and69, as well as two concentric rings of boring tools and drills 70 and71. The quill 62 is again provided with a spindle 72 which is slidabletherein and which has a chuck 73 holding a workpiece 74. Referring toFIG. 9, the quill 62 is located on a slide 75 which is operated by ahydraulic cylinder 76, although an electric actuator could be used. Theslide 75 is movable across a plate 77 which can also be seen in FIG. 7being separated therefrom by hydrostatic bearings 78. The plate 77 isrotatable within the headstock portion of the frame 61 in which it isrigidly held by hydrostatic bearings 79. Thus rotation of the plate 77alters the inclination of the slide 75 and thus the inclination of thecutting plane. Indexing mechanism, which is not shown, is included sothat the plate 77 can be rotated to bring the cutting plane into linewith any of the discs 64 to 69. Since there are six of these discs, eachcontaining 12 cutting tips, a total number of 72 alternative tools areavailable for carrying out metal removal work on the workpiece 74.

A further embodiment is shown in FIG. 10. A workpiece 81 is held by arotatable chuck 82 carried by a quill 83 which is axially slidablewithin a head 84. The head 84 is carried on a vertical column 85, and isrotatably indexable thereon in a horizontal plane. The column 85 issupported for vertical movement in a framework 86 which is provided withan upstanding circular or part-circular flange 87 on which are carried amultiplicity of tools. Of these tools FIG. 10 shows a drill 88 and acutting tool 89. By indexing the workhead 84 to any desired angularposition in a horizontal plane any one of the multiplicity of tools canbe selected for metal removing operations. FIG. 11 shows a plan view ofa modification of FIG. 10 in which the circular arrangement has now beendeveloped in a straight line. A workpiece 91 is held in a rotatablechuck 92 carried by a quill 93. The quill 93 is axially slidable withina workpiece head 94 which is able to traverse along a slide member 95 bymeans of a pinion which is not shown engaging with a rack 96, the pinionbeing driven by any suitable means. The workpiece head 94 is alsovertically movable. A tool store 97 holds an arrangement of end tools 98such as boring tools or drills and radial cutting tools 99. Thus bypositioning the workhead 94 along the slide 95 and by advancing thequill 93 therethrough the workpiece can be presented to any one of amultiplicity of tools.

In FIG. 13 there is shown a multi purpose machine tool, comprising ahead stock unit 101 and a tooling unit 102. In the head stock unit 101 aspindle 103 provided with a workpiece holder 104 in which is gripped acylindrical workpiece 105 is driven by a fluid servo motor 106. Thespindle 103 is movable in an' axial direction as indicated by the doubleheaded arrow 107, the hydraulic actuator being of any convenient type.Movement in a plane transverse to the axial movement indicated by thearrow 107 is obtained by mechanism generally similar to that disclosedin FIGS. and 12 and also shown in FIG. 14 but, of course, otherarrangements could be adopted. I

A cylinder 117 is mounted in the head stock unit 101 to be rotatableabout its longitudinal axis to any desired angular position. Mountedwithin the cylinder 117 for angular rotation about its axis is acylinder 108 which performs the function of the cylinder 34 in FIGS. 5and 12. Mounted eccentrically within the cylinder 108 for angularrotation about its axis is a further cylinder 109 which performs thefunction of the cylinder 36 in FIG. 5. The spindle 103 is carriedeccentrically within the cylinder 109. The eccentricity of the axis ofthe spindle 103 in relation to the axis of the cylinder 109, and theeccentricity of the axis of the cylinder 109 in relation to the axis ofthe cylinder 108 are the same, and it is arranged that the cylinders 108and 109 are driven through equal. angular amounts and in oppositedirections. The spindle 103 thus moves in a straight line in the planeof FIG. 14. Rotation of the cylinder 117 carries the cylinders 108 and109 with it and thus carries the axis of the spindle 103 to the desiredposition. Thus, by equal and opposite angular rotations of the twocylinders 108 and 109 motion along a radial plane through the axis ofthe cylinder 108 is produced, and bodily rotation of the cylinders 117,108 and 109 brings that radial plane into the position of the desiredradial plane through the axis of the cylinder 108. It will beappreciated that the cylinder 117 is not essential to produce themotions described; it is merely necessary that, in addition to the equaland opposite angular rotation of the two cylinders 108 and 109 relativeto the head stock unit 101 which produces straight line motion of theworkpiece in the plane of FIG. 14 and relative to the head stock unit101, there should be an additional rotation of the cylinder 108. Guidessimilar to 43 and 44 in FIG. 5 may be provided, but if the drivingarrangements producing the opposite rotations of cylinders 108 and 109relative to the head stock 101 necessarily produce the equal angularrotations referred to above then the guides are not essential. If theguides are provided then it may not be necessary to provide any drivingmeans for rotating the cylinder 109 about its own axis since by rotatingthe cylinder 108 through the desired total amount relative to the headstock 101 the cylinder 109 will automatically be rotated through thedesired angle relative to the cylinder 108 by means of the constraintimposed by the guides. However, it may be desirable to apply arotational force to the cylinder 109 in the correct sense to cause it torotate fully through the desired angle.

The tooling unit 102 comprises a block member 110 which is pivotableabout vertical trunnion ends 111 and 112 which are respectively housedin a top frame 113 and a base plate 114. On three faces of the blockmember 110 there are provided plates 115. Two of the plates 115 areshown in FIG. 13 and the third is on the concealed rear face of theblock member 110. Each of the plates 115 is provided with a range offixed tools 1 18 for metal removal on the end face of the workpiece 105.On the fourth face of the block member 110 there is provided a plate 116which carries a range of milling cutters 119 and a range of rotatabledrills 120 which are individually driven, when the block is rotated sothat they oppose the end face of the workpiece 105, by hydraulicmotors,which are not indicated in these diagrammatic drawings. The top plate113 is also provided with an attachment 121 containing a hydraulic motordriving a milling attachment 122 while the head stock 101 has fourstations 123, 124, 125 and 126. Each of these stations contains aplurality of fixed stationary radial cutting tools, the arrangementbeing similar to that shown in FIG. 6.

In FIG. 15 the arrangement is slightly different since the four stations123, 124, 125 and 126 have been removed from the head stock 101 and havebeen substituted for one of theplates 115 on the tooling unit 102. Thusthe block 110 contains only two plates of fixed tools together with oneplate containing driven tools 119 and 120 and a fourth plate containingstations with radial tools 123, 124, 125 and 126.

Radial metal removal is obtained by the tools housed on the stations123, 124, 125 and 126, while referring to the arrangement in FIG. 15which represents the preferred embodiment, metal is removed from thecenter of the workpiece 105 by any of the fixed tools on the tool faceshousing them on the block 110.. If it is required to use a tool housedon one of the other plates then the block 110 is rotated by anyconvenient means about the trunnions 111 and 112 until the requisiteplate which can be locked in position is facing the head stock unit 101.

The fluid servo motor 106 is capable of rotating the spindle 103 aboutany desired angle and of holding itin such a position. This abilitycombined with the function of the eccentric cylinders 108 and 109 totraverse the holder 104 to any desired position in a plane transverse tothe direction of the arrow 107 enables the workpiece 105 to be presentedto any of the driven tools 119 and 120 which can thereby drilloff-center holes, cut grooves, box cams etc. Finally, the milling cutter122 with its separate drive can remove metal radially while theworkpiece is heldstationary thus enabling it to cut keyways, splines,oil grooves, etc. In addition by combining the features of the fluidservo motor 106 and of the hydraulic actuator giving the holder 104 andworkpiece 105 axial movement, it is possible to cut threads and spiralgrooves in the workpiece by using suitable tools in any of the stations123, 124, 125 or 126.

It will thus be seen that a machine tool with the features described canperform almost any desired function on a workpiece which is gripped inthe holder 104. In the embodiments shown, allowance has been made for amaximum length of finished component of inches being cut from aworkpiece cylinder of 10 inches diameter, this being considered aconvenient maximum size for the production of a wide range ofcomponents.

In very general and superficial terms an analogy could be drawn betweenthe way in which a workpiece is converted into a finished component bysuccessive specialized machining operations in transfer machines and theway in which a workpiece is dealt with in the machines described herein.In transfer machines a workpiece mounted on a pallet is conveyed frommachine to machine, each machine having a different specialized toolingsystem to carry out different specialized machining operations on theworkpiece until the finished component is produced. The analogy with themachines of the present invention is that in both cases the workpiece isrigidly held and accurately located in workpiece holding means and ismoved successively from one work station to another work station at eachof which there is provided a specialized tool or tools for carrying outspecific machining operations. The essential and important difference aswill have been seen is that in the present invention successive workstations are in the same machine so that much more flexible operation ofthe machine is possible leading to more economical batch production thanwould be possible with a line of transfer machines which are much moreinflexible and suitable only for relatively long production runs. In themachines of the present invention the changes necessary to produce alarge number of different components are within the control capabilityof the machine.

In FIG. 16 there is shown diagrammatically a further form of datacontrolled machine tool which has many similarities to the machinesshown in FIGS. 13, 14 and 15. The machine bed 201 supports a headstockunit 202 and a member 203, the unit 202 and the member 203 being tiedtogether by a bridge piece 204. The member 203, which in this case hasfour faces, three 205, 206 and 207 being shown, can have as many facesas convenient and is rotatable about vertical trunnions 208 and 209. Theheadstock unit 202 is provided with a spindle 210 to which can beattached a tool holding collet 211. The spindle 210 is driven by ahydraulic motor 212 and is movable along its axis which is one of threeorthogonal directions in which it is capable of being moved. Movement inthe other two of the three orthogonal directions is achieved by anysuitable mechanism such as those described above.

On the face 205 of the member 203 is a detachable face plate 213containing a plurality of tools 214 such as milling cutters, drills,boring tools, etc. with their shanks directed towards the holder 211.215 is a datum surface. The method of selecting a tool and of datumingits free end so that it is fixed in the holder 211 at a predetermineddistance therefrom is as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,241,451 issuedMar. 22, 1966. In brief, the holder 211 extracts the selected tool andbrings it up to the datum surface 215 so that the free end of the toolis at a predetermined fixed distance from the tool holder. The face 206is provided with a further detachable face plate 216, which may be apallet, having fixed thereto a workpiece 217. The datum surface 215could equally well be fixed to the face plate 216. As soon as theselected tool is positioned in the holder 21 1 the member 203 is rotatedby means, which are not shown, through so that the workpiece 217 isopposed to the holder 211. Material removal can then proceed inaccordance with the input instructions fed to the control equipment,which is again not shown and which controls movement of the selectedtool in any of the three orthogonal directions. While the workpiece 217is being fashioned into a component a further workpiece can be loadedonto faceplate 218 attached to the face 207 of the member 203. Thisfaceplatemight also be a pallet, the location of which on the face 207is effected as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,243,178 issued Mar. 29, 1966the location of pallet 216 being similarly obtained. Thus the machineshown is a con trolled machine tool with a form of transfer apparatus.

If it is desired to use the machine in a similar way to the machine tooldisclosed in FIGS. 13, 14 and 15 it is necessary to remove the toolholder 211 which is replaced by a workpiece holder. Alternatively, aform of holder may be used which can act either as a tool holder or as aworkpiece holder. The faceplates 213, 216 and 218 are replaced withfurther plates such as the plates 115 and 116 shown in FIG. 15. One ofthe faces of the member 203 could also carry radiallydisposed cuttingtools as are shown at 123 and 124 in FIG. 15.

A further embodiment as illustrated in FIG. 26 is obtained by fitting aworkpiece holder at the opposite end of the spindle 210 to the toolholder 211. The headstock unit 202 is provided with trunnions 258 and259 similar to those fitted to the member 203, whereby it may be rotatedthrough 180 to present the workpiece to a face of the member 203provided with turning tools, drills, etc. These could, for instance, beheld on the fourth, and unshown, face of the member 203. In a furtherembodiment, in place of the member 203 which has four faces, a memberwith a greater number of faces, such as eight, is provided. In this casefour of the faces carry tools in similar manner to the four faces of theblock in FIG. 15, and the other faces are as the four faces of themember 203 in FIG. 16.

The machine tool shown in FIGS. 17, 18 and 19 comprises a headstock 310integral with a base portion 311 and with a support arm 312. At the endof the support arm 312 remote from the headstock 310 is an enlarged boss313, and rotatably mounted therein is the upper end 314a of a verticalshaft 314. Vertically below the bass 313 the base 311 is recessed toreceive the lower end 314b of the shaft 314. The shaft 314 has'anenlarged cylindrical middle portion 314s, and mounted on the portion3140 is a cylindrical tool-carrying turret 315 which has a circularflange 3150. The cylindrical turret 315 is composed of a plurality of(in this case five) inverted substantially L shaped members 316, thelong sides of the members 316 together forming the cylinder, and theshort sides extending outwardly to form the flange 315a. The members 316may be secured in place by any convenient means, such as setscrews, orby a clamp. A flange 314d on the shaft 314 supports the weight of themembers 316 and, for example, vertical locating pegs on the flange 314dcould fit into holes in the members 316 which could be held together bya clamp passing around the flange 315a.

1. In a data-controlled machine tool wherein automatic control meansresponsive to a data input for selecting tools and controlling movementof a workpiece is provided, comprising support means, a workpiece holdermounted on said support means, means to rotate said workpiece holder, aplurality of tools, means for mounting said tools on said support means,and means for moving said workpiece holder in at least two orthogonaldirections so that the geometric center of the workpiece can move to andremain in each and every point of a finite cutting plane of a selectedtool which cutting plane is defined by the workpiece axis and theselected tool tip.
 2. A data-controlled machine tool as claimed in claim1 wherein said means for moving said workpiece holder is capable ofmoving said holder in three orthogonal directions whereby the workpiececan move into the cutting plane of any selected one of said tools.
 3. Adata-controlled machine tool as claimed in claim 2 wherein one of saidorthogonal directions for movement of said workpiece holder is in thedirection of its rotational axis (X), and said two remaining orthogonaldirections (Y and Z) are mutually perpendicular to the rotational axisof the workpiece, the movements along the X, Y and Z axes cooperating tobring a selected tool into opposItion to the workpiece so that it canperform a machining operation thereon.
 4. A data-controlled machine toolas claimed in claim 3 wherein said mounting means for a plurality oftools comprises two tool-carrying surfaces, one being disposed at anangle to the other, one surface having turning tools extending therefromand the other having tools, of other types, at least the selected toolextending in a direction parallel to the rotational (X) axis.
 5. Adata-controlled machine tool as claimed in claim 4 wherein said mountingmeans for a plurality of tools comprises a cylindrical turret, onesurface being the surface of said cylindrical turret which has saidother tools extending radially therefrom and arranged in horizontal andvertical rows, the other surface being on an annular flange of thecylinder, a single row of turning tools extending from the flangeparallel with the axis of the turret, the turret being rotatably mountedon said support means with its axis vertical, the workpiece holder beingmovable vertically (Y axis) so that, together with rotation of theturret, any tool carried by the turret may be selected.
 6. Adata-controlled machine tool as claimed in claim 4 wherein said mountingmeans for a plurality of tools comprises a pallet having said twosurfaces, the surface from which extend the turning tools being verticaland at one side of the pallet and carrying a single vertical row ofturning tools, the other surface being perpendicular thereto andextending in the direction of the Y and Z axes and carrying toolsarranged in a plurality of vertical and horizontal rows, the palletbeing carried by means capable of vertical movement (Y axis), and theworkpiece holder being carried by a cross slide permitting movement inthe direction of the Z axis.
 7. A data-controlled machine tool asclaimed in claim 6 comprising a plurality of interchangeabletool-carrying pallets.
 8. A data-controlled machine tool as claimed inclaim 1 wherein means is provided for moving the workpiece holder alongits rotational axis and in a vertical plane, and wherein said mountingmeans for a plurality of tools comprises a tool turret indexable about avertical axis displaced from said rotational axis, said turret having aplurality of vertical faces from which said tools extend horizontally,the turning tool in use at any instant being arranged with its shanktangential to the surface of the workpiece and with its cutting tip inthe vertical plane of movement of the workpiece.
 9. A data-controlledmachine tool as claimed in claim 8 wherein at least one face of theturret carries tools for working on the end face of the workpiece.
 10. Adata-controlled machine tool as claimed in claim 8 wherein means isadditionally provided for moving the workpiece in a horizontal plane andthe cutting tools are arranged radially of the workpiece.
 11. Adata-controlled machine tool as claimed in claim 8 comprising means formoving the workpiece holder along its rotational axis and in two otherdirections mutually perpendicular to its rotational axis and whereinsaid mounting means for a plurality of tools comprises a block memberopposed to the workpiece holder and having a plurality of faces withtools thereon, the block member being pivotably mounted so as to presenteach of its faces and the tools thereon separately to the workpieceholder, and other tools are disposed radially of the rotational axis ofthe workpiece holder.
 12. A data-controlled machine tool as claimed inclaim 11 wherein the workpiece holder includes means for gripping aworkpiece, a tool, and a tool holder alternatively, and at least oneface of the block includes means for carrying a plurality of tools fromwhich said toolholder can select and withdraw a tool, datuming means tocause the toolholder to grip the selected tool firmly with its free endat a predetermined distance from the holder, and workpiece holding meanson at least one other face of the block member which can be opposed tOthe toolholder for the selected tool gripped in the toolholder to removematerial from the workpiece.
 13. A data-controlled machine tool asclaimed in claim 12 wherein the block member is mounted for pivoting ona shaft which also carries a faceplate at each end of the block, thefaceplate being adapted to carry a workpiece.
 14. A data-controlledmachine tool as claimed in claim 13 wherein the block member ispivotable about an additional axis perpendicular to the axis of theshaft so that a faceplate may be brought into a position perpendicularto the axis of rotation of the toolholder.
 15. A data-controlled machinetool as claimed in claim 8 comprising means for moving the workpieceholder along its axis of rotation and in two other directionsperpendicular to each other and to the axis of rotation so that theworkpiece holder is movable in a plane perpendicular to the rotationalaxis of the workpiece holder, the means to rotate said workpiece holdercomprising a rotatably mounted first cylindrical member, a rotatableshaft mounted eccentrically of the axis of rotation of said firstcylindrical member, a rotatably mounted second cylindrical member, thefirst cylindrical member being rotatably mounted in said secondcylindrical member eccentrically of the axis of the second cylindricalmember, the second cylindrical member being itself mounted for rotationabout its axis, whereby rotation of the two cylindrical members causesthe axis of the workpiece holder to be moved in both the said two otherdirections.
 16. A data-controlled machine tool as claimed in claim 1wherein means is provided for moving the workpiece holder along itsrotational axis and in a direction at right angles to its rotationalaxis so that the workpiece is movable to any position in a plane, andwherein turning tools are disposed at two positions in the plane and onopposite sides of the workpiece holder so that the workpiece can bemoved to a turning tool at either position to be machined thereby.
 17. Adata-controlled machine tool as claimed in claim 16 wherein end toolsare also disposed in the plane so that the workpiece can be brought to aselected end tool to be machined thereby.
 18. A data-controlled machinetool as claimed in claim 17 wherein the end tools are mounted on arotatable indexable turret arranged with its axis of rotation in saidplane.
 19. A data-controlled machine tool as claimed in claim 1 furthercomprising means for moving the workpiece holder along its rotationalaxis and in two other directions at right angles to each other and tothe rotational axis so that the workpiece can be moved to any positionin a plane at right angles to the rotational axis, and wherein saidplurality of tools comprises turning tools mounted in said plane atpositions spaced apart around the rotational axis of said workpieceholder so that the workpiece can be moved to any one of said tools to bemachined thereby.
 20. A data-controlled machine tool as claimed in claim19 wherein said plurality of tools further comprises a cluster of endtools extending in the direction of the rotational axis of saidworkpiece holder, the tools extending from a face at right angles to therotational axis and displaced in the direction of the rotational axisfrom the plane of the turning tools.
 21. A data-controlled machine toolas claimed in claim 19 wherein the turning tools at each position are inthe form of a rotatable indexable disc having cutting tips disposedaround its periphery, the disc being mounted with its axis of rotationin said plane.
 22. A data-controlled machine tool as claimed in claim 1further comprising means for moving the workpiece holder along itsrotational axis to produce the cutting plane and for also moving theholder in a vertical direction and wherein additionally the workpieceholder is rotatably indexable about a vertical axis passing through itsrotational axis, said plurality of tools comprising turning toolsdisposed around the vertical axis so that rotation of the workpieceabout its vertical axis brings the workpiece into the cutting plane ofthe selected turning tool.
 23. A data-controlled machine tool as claimedin claim 22 wherein said plurality of tools further comprises end toolsdisposed radially of the vertical axis so that rotation of the workpieceabout its vertical axis brings the end face of the workpiece into aposition to be operated on by the selected end tool.
 24. Adata-controlled machine tool as claimed in claim 3 comprising means formoving the workpiece holder along its rotational axis and in a verticaldirection to produce the cutting plane and in the horizontal directionmutually perpendicular to its two other directions of movement.
 25. Amachine tool for removing material from a workpiece while being rotated,comprising a. a machine base means, b. means mounted on said base meansfor simultaneously securing a plurality of tools, each at a differentlocation and each having a cutting tip, and c. means mounted on saidbase means for rotating said workpiece about an axis, said axis being ata fixed position relative to said workpiece, and for moving saidworkpiece in at least two orthogonal directions, one of said directionsbeing in the direction of said axis and the other of said directionsbeing in the plane defined by said axis and the cutting tip of a tool,d. whereby the workpiece can be moved into engagement with the cuttingtip of any selected one of said tools at one of said locations, and thecutting tip of said selected tool has access to every point in apredetermined cutting plane passing through said workpiece.
 26. Amachine tool for removing material from a workpiece while being rotated,comprising a. a machine base means, b. means mounted on said base meansfor simultaneously securing a plurality of tools, each at a differentlocation and each having a cutting tip, c. a workpiece holder, and d.means supporting said workpiece holder on said base means for rotatingsaid workpiece holder about an axis, said axis being at a fixed positionrelative to said workpiece holder, and for moving said workpiece holderin at least two orthogonal directions, one of said directions being inthe direction of said axis and the other of said directions being in theplane defined by said axis and the cutting tip of a tool, e. wherebywith movement of a workpiece mounted on said workpiece holder saidworkpiece is moved into engagement with any selected one of said toolsat one of said locations, and the cutting tip of said selected tool hasaccess to every point in a predetermined cutting plane.
 27. A machinetool as claimed in claim 26 wherein said support means comprises meanssupporting said workpiece holder for movement in three orthogonaldirections whereby with movement of a workpiece mounted on saidworkpiece holder the cutting tip of said selected tool has access to anyselected cutting plane and to every point in said selected cuttingplane.
 28. A machine tool as claimed in claim 26 wherein said supportmeans comprises a first support means supporting said workpiece holderfor said rotation about said axis and a second support means supportingsaid workpiece holder for movement in said orthogonal directions.
 29. Amachine tool as claimed in claim 28 wherein said first support means ismounted for movement in said orthogonal directions on said secondsupport means.
 30. A machine tool as claimed in claim 28 wherein saidfirst support means comprises a third support means supporting saidworkpiece holder for movement axially and a fourth support meanssupporting said workpiece holder for movement perpendicularly to saidaxial direction.
 31. A machine tool as claimed in claim 30 wherein saidthird support means is mounted for movement perpendicularly to saidaxial direction on said fourth support means.
 32. A machine tool asclaimed in claim 26 wherein said support means comprises meanssupporting said workpiece holder for mOvement axially and meanssupporting said workpiece holder for movement perpendicularly to saidaxial direction.
 33. A machine tool as claimed in claim 32 wherein saidmeans supporting said workpiece holder for perpendicular movementsupports and moves perpendicularly to said axis said means supportingsaid workpiece holder for axial movement.
 34. A machine tool as claimedin claim 26 wherein said means supporting said workpiece holdercomprises a first slide means transverse to said rotational axis, saidworkpiece holder being mounted for movement along said first slidemeans, and a second slide means transverse to said rotational axis andfirst slide means, said first slide means being mounted for movementalong said second slide means, whereby said first and second slide meanspermit movement of said workpiece holder in two orthogonal directionsperpendicular to said axial direction.
 35. A machine tool as claimed inclaim 34 wherein said means supporting said workpiece holder furthercomprises means supporting said workpiece holder mounted on said firstslide means permitting movement of said workpiece holder in said axialdirection.
 36. A machine tool as claimed in claim 35 wherein said meanssupporting said workpiece holder further comprises means supporting saidworkpiece holder for rotation, said rotation support means being mountedon said means supporting said workpiece holder for movement in saidaxial direction.
 37. A machine tool for removing material from aworkpiece while being rotated, comprising a. a machine base means, b.means mounted on said base means for securing at least one tool having acutting tip, c. a workpiece holder, and d. means supporting saidworkpiece holder on said base means for rotating said workpiece holderabout an axis, said axis being at a fixed position relative to saidworkpiece holder, and for moving said workpiece holder in at least twoorthogonal directions, one of said directions being in the direction ofsaid axis, e. said support means supporting said workpiece holdercomprising a first rotatable element, a second rotatable elementeccentrically positioned with respect to said first rotatable elementand a third element supporting said workpiece holder for movement insaid axial direction eccentrically positioned with respect to saidsecond rotatable element, f. whereby rotation of said first and secondelements causes said workpiece holder to move perpendicularly to itsrotational axis and with movement of a workpiece mounted on saidworkpiece holder the cutting tip of said tool has access to every pointin a predetermined cutting plane.
 38. A machine tool as claimed in claim37 comprising plate means, said first rotatable element comprising anouter circular member rotatably mounted within said plate means, saidsecond rotatable element comprising an inner circular membereccentrically mounted within said outer member, said third elementcomprising a quill eccentrically mounted within said inner member formovement in said axial direction, said machine tool further comprising aspindle concentrically and rotatably mounted in said quill for rotatablysupporting said workpiece holder.
 39. A machine tool as claimed in claim37 wherein the distance between the rotational axes of said first andsecond rotatable elements is equal to the distance between the axis ofsaid second element and the rotational axis of said workpiece holder,whereby said workpiece holder may be moved in a straight lineperpendicularly to its rotational axis by rotation of said first andsecond elements in opposite directions.
 40. A machine tool as claimed inclaim 39 further comprising driving means for rotating said first andsecond elements in opposite directions with equal angular velocity tocause said workpiece holder to move in a straight line perpendicularlyto its rotational axis.
 41. A machine tool as claimed in claim 37further comprising driving means for rotating said first and secOndelements in opposite directions at relative angular velocities such asto cause said workpiece holder to move in a straight lineperpendicularly to its rotational axis.
 42. A machine tool as claimed inclaim 37 further comprising a sliding member attached to said thirdelement and linear slide means for guiding and preventing rotation ofsaid sliding member whereby rotation of said third element is preventedas it moves along a linear path perpendicular to the rotational axis ofsaid workpiece holder by rotation of said first and second elements. 43.A machine tool as claimed in claim 42 comprising a further rotatablemeans having an axis of rotation parallel to the axes of rotation ofsaid first and second rotatable elements and of said workpiece holder,said linear slide means being mounted on said further rotatable meanswhereby the direction of said linear path along which said third elementmoves may be adjusted.
 44. A machine tool for removing material from aworkpiece while being rotated, comprising a. a machine base means, b.means mounted on said base means for securing at least one tool having acutting tip, c. a workpiece holder, and d. means supporting saidworkpiece holder on said base means for rotating said workpiece holderabout an axis, said axis being at a fixed position relative to saidworkpiece holder, and for moving said workpiece holder in at least twoorthogonal directions, one of said directions being in the direction ofsaid axis, e. said support means supporting said workpiece holdercomprising a rotatable element having an axis of rotation substantiallyparallel to the rotational axis of said workpiece holder, slide means onsaid rotatable element for movement perpendicularly to its axis ofrotation, and means mounted on said slide means for supporting saidworkpiece holder for rotation of said workpiece holder, f. whereby withmovement of a workpiece mounted on said workpiece holder the cutting tipof said tool has access to every point in a predetermined cutting plane.45. A machine tool as claimed in claim 44 wherein said support meansfurther comprises means mounted on said slide means permitting movementof said workpiece holder in said axial direction.
 46. A machine tool asclaimed in claim 26 wherein said support means comprises first slidemeans for movement in a direction perpendicular to said axis ofrotation, second slide means mounted on said first slide means formovement in said axial direction, and means mounted on said second slidemeans rotatably supporting said workpiece holder.
 47. A machine tool asclaimed in claim 26 wherein said means securing a plurality of toolscomprises at least one rotatably mounted member for retaining said toolsin spaced relationship whereby at least one of said plurality of toolsmay be positioned at any one time for engagement by a workpiece on saidworkpiece holder.
 48. A machine tool as claimed in claim 47 wherein saidmember is mounted for rotation about an axis transverse to therotational axis of said workpiece holder and comprises a plurality offaces, each face comprising means for mounting a plurality of tools. 49.A machine tool as claimed in claim 47 wherein said means securing aplurality of tools comprises a plurality of rotatable mounted members,each said member comprising means for mounting a plurality of toolsabout its periphery, whereby simultaneously at least one of saidplurality of tools on each member may be positioned for engagement by aworkpiece of said workpiece holder.
 50. A machine tool as claimed inclaim 49 wherein said means for mounting said plurality of tools aboutthe periphery of each of said rotatably mounted members comprises aplurality of recesses in the periphery of said rotatable member, eachfor receiving a least one tool tip.
 51. A machine tool as claimed inclaim 49 wherein at least one of said rotatably mounted members ismounted for rotation about an axis substantially perpendicular to therOtational axis of said workpiece holder.
 52. A machine tool as claimedin claim 49 wherein at least one of said rotatably mounted members ismounted for rotation about an axis substantially parallel to therotational axis of said workpiece holder.
 53. A machine tool as claimedin claim 49 comprising at least one pair of said rotatably mountedmembers, the rotational axis of one of said pair of members beingsubstantially perpendicular to the rotational axis of said workpieceholder, said one member being adapted to retain boring tools and drills,and the rotational axis of the other of said pair of members beingsubstantially parallel to the rotational axis of said workpiece holder,said other member being adapted to retain a plurality of cutting tools.54. A machine tool as claimed in claim 53 comprising a plurality of saidpairs of rotatably mounted members whereby tools retained in one pairmay be replaced while tools retained in the other pair are in use.
 55. Amachine tool for removing material from a workpiece, comprising a. amachine base means, b. a head stock unit mounted on said base means forsupporting a workpiece, and c. a tooling unit mounted on said base meansfor simultaneously supporting a plurality of tools, each at a differentlocation relative to the other tools and each having a cutting tip, d.said head stock unit comprising means for rotating said workpiece aboutan axis, said axis being at a fixed position relative to said workpieceand for moving said workpiece in at least two orthogonal directions, oneof said directions being in the direction of said axis and the other ofsaid directions being in the plane defined by said axis and the cuttingtip of a tool, e. said tooling unit including means for selectivelypositioning any one of said plurality of tools at one of said locationsadjacent the workpiece on said head stock unit, f. whereby the workpiececan be moved into engagement with the cutting tip of a tool selectedfrom a plurality of tools and said cutting tip has access to every pointin a predetermined cutting plane passing through said workpiece.
 56. Amachine tool for removing material from a workpiece, comprising a. amachine base means, b. a head stock unit mounted on said base means forsupporting a workpiece, and c. a tooling unit mounted on said base meansfor simultaneously supporting a plurality of tools, each at a differentlocation relative to the other tools and each having a cutting tip, d.said head stock unit comprising a workpiece holder for rotation about anaxis, said axis being at a fixed position relative to said workpieceholder and for movement in at least two orthogonal directions, one ofsaid directions being in the direction of said axis and the other ofsaid directions being in the plane defined by said axis and the cuttingtip of a tool, and e. said tool unit including means for selectivelypositioning any one of said plurality of tools at one of said locationsadjacent the workpiece on said workpiece holder, f. whereby theworkpiece can be moved into engagement with the cutting tip of a toolselected from a plurality of tools and said cutting tip has access toevery point in a predetermined cutting plane passing through saidworkpiece.
 57. A machine tool as claimed in claim 56 wherein saidsupport means comprises means supporting said workpiece holder formovement in three orthogonal directions whereby with movement of aworkpiece mounted on said workpiece holder the cutting tip of saidselected tool has access to any selected cutting plane and to everypoint in said selected cutting plane.
 58. A machine tool as claimed inclaim 56 wherein said support means comprises a first support meanssupporting said workpiece holder for said rotation about said axis and asecond support means supporting said workpiece holder for movement insaid orthogonal directions.
 59. A machine tool as claimed in claim 58wherein said first support means is mounted for movement in saidorthogonal directions on said second support means.
 60. A machine toolas claimed in claim 58 wherein said first support means comprises athird support means supporting said workpiece holder for movementaxially and a fourth support means supporting said workpiece holder formovement perpendicularly to said axial direction.
 61. A machine tool asclaimed in claim 60 wherein said third support means is mounted formovement perpendicularly to said axial direction on said fourth supportmeans.
 62. A machine tool as claimed in claim 56 wherein said meanssupporting said workpiece holder comprises a first rotatable element, asecond rotatable element eccentrically positioned with respect to saidfirst rotatable element and a third element for supporting saidworkpiece holder for movement in said axial direction eccentricallypositioned with respect to said second rotatable element, wherebyrotation of said first and second elements cause said workpiece holderto move perpendicularly to its rotational axis.
 63. A machine tool asclaimed in claim 56 wherein said means supporting said workpiece holdercomprises a first cylinder rotatably mounted on said head stock unit, asecond cylinder eccentrically mounted for rotation on said firstcylinder, and a third cylinder eccentrically mounted on said secondcylinder for supporting said workpiece holder whereby rotation of saidfirst and second cylinders causes said third cylinder and workpieceholder to move perpendicularly to the rotational axis of said workpieceholder.
 64. A machine tool as claimed in claim 63 wherein said thirdcylinder is movable in the direction of the rotational axis of saidworkpiece holder.
 65. A machine tool as claimed in claim 64 furthercomprising a spindle concentrically and rotatably mounted in said thirdcylinder for rotatably supporting said workpiece holder.
 66. A machinetool as claimed in claim 63 wherein said means supporting said workpieceholder further comprises a fourth cylinder means rotatably mounted onsaid head stock unit, said first cylinder being rotatably mounted withinsaid fourth cylinder means whereby said first, second and thirdcylinders may be rotated within said head stock unit.
 67. A machine toolfor removing material from a workpiece, comprising a. a machine basemeans, b. a head stock unit mounted on said base means for supporting aworkpiece, and c. a tooling unit mounted on said base means forsupporting a plurality of tools having cutting tips, d. said head stockunit comprising a workpiece holder and means supporting said workpieceholder for rotation about an axis and for movement in at least twoorthogonal directions, e. said tooling unit being mounted for rotationabout an axis transverse to the rotational axis of said workpiece holderand comprising means for securing said plurality of tools about the axisof the tooling unit, f. whereby the workpiece can be moved intoengagement with the cutting tip of a tool selected from a plurality oftools and said cutting tip has access to every point in a predeterminedcutting plane passing through said workpiece.
 68. A machine tool asclaimed in claim 67 wherein said tooling unit includes a plurality offaces about the axis of the tooling unit, each face including said meansfor securing a plurality of said tools, whereby any one of said facesmay be selectively positioned adjacent the workpiece and said workpieceis caused to contact the cutting tip of a selected tool on the selectedface by said means for rotating and moving said workpiece holder.
 69. Amachine tool as claimed in claim 56 wherein said head stock unit furthercomprises at least one means for securing at least one additional tool,whereby with movement of said workpiece by said support means thecutting tip of said additional tool has access to every point in apredetermined cutting plane passing through said workpiece.
 70. Amachine tool as claimed iN claim 69 wherein said means for securing atleast one additional tool comprises at least one rotatably mountedmember for retaining a plurality of additional tools in spacedrelationship, whereby at least one of said plurality of additional toolsmay be selectively positioned for engagement by said workpiece.
 71. Amachine tool as claimed in claim 67 wherein said means for securing saidplurality of tools comprises means for securing and driving at least oneof said tools.
 72. A machine tool as claimed in claim 68 comprising atleast one rotatable member mounted on at least one of said faces forrotation about an axis perpendicular to the axis of rotation of saidtooling unit, said rotatable member including means for retaining aplurality of additional tools in spaced relationship, whereby at leastone of said plurality of additional tools may be selectively positionedfor engagement by said workpiece when said one face is positionedadjacent said workpiece.
 73. A machine tool as claimed in claim 67further comprising a power driven milling center mounted for rotation onan axis perpendicular to said axis of rotation of said workpiece holderfor removing material radially from said workpiece while being heldstationary.
 74. A machine tool as claimed in claim 68 wherein at leastone of the tools on at least one of said faces is power driven.
 75. Amachine tool as claimed in claim 65 wherein said head stock unit ismounted for rotation about an axis perpendicular to said rotational axisof said spindle, said head stock unit further comprising means forsecuring a tool, said tool securing means being mounted on one end ofsaid spindle and the workpiece holder on the opposite end thereof, andsaid tooling unit is mounted for rotation about an axis transverse tothe rotational axis of said workpiece holder and comprises means forretaining a plurality of tools and at least one further workpiece aboutthe axis of the tooling unit, whereby any one of said tools may beselectively positioned adjacent said head stock unit for engaging theworkpiece on said head stock unit and said tool securing means on saidspindle may secure a selected tool from said tooling unit and cause saidselected tool to engage said further workpiece on said tooling unit. 76.A machine tool as claimed in claim 75 further comprising datum meansretained on said tooling unit whereby the free end of a tool retained insaid tool securing means on said spindle may be datumed at apredetermined distance from said tool securing means.
 77. In adata-controlled machine tool wherein automatic control means responsiveto a data input for selecting tools and controlling movement of aworkpiece is provided, comprising a machine base means, a workpieceholder mounted on said base means, means for rotating said workpieceholder and for moving said workpiece holder in at least two orthogonaldirections, and means mounted on said base means for selectivelypositioning any one of a plurality of tools adjacent the workpiece onsaid workpiece holder, whereby the workpiece can be moved intoengagement with the cutting tip of a tool selected from a plurality oftools and said cutting tip has access to every point in a predeterminedcutting plane passing through said workpiece.
 78. A machine tool asclaimed in claim 26 wherein said means for securing a plurality of toolsis adapted to support tools with their cutting tips directed parallel tothe rotational axis of said workpiece holder when positioned forengagement by a workpiece.
 79. A machine tool as claimed in claim 26wherein said means for securing a plurality of tools is adapted tosupport tools with their cutting tips directed transverse to therotational axis of said workpiece holder when positioned for engagementby a workpiece.
 80. A machine tool as claimed in claim 67 wherein saidmeans for securing a plurality of tools is adapted to support tools withtheir cutting tips directed parallel to the rotational axis of saidworkpiece holder when positioned for engagement by a workpiece.
 81. Amachine tool as claimed in claim 67 wherein said means for securing aplurality of tools is adapted to support tools with their cutting tipsdirected transverse to the rotational axis of said workpiece holder whenpositioned for engagement by a workpiece.
 82. A machine tool as claimedin claim 26 wherein said means supporting said workpiece holdercomprises a first slide means transverse to said rotational axis, saidworkpiece holder being mounted for movement along said first slidemeans, and a second slide means parallel to said rotational axis andtransverse to said first slide means, said first slide means beingmounted for movement along said second slide means, whereby said firstand second slide means permit movement of said workpiece holder in twoorthogonal directions.
 83. A machine tool as claimed in claim 56 whereinsaid tooling unit is mounted for movement along a path transverse tosaid two orthogonal directions of movement of said workpiece holder andcomprises means for securing said plurality of tools at spaced locationson said tooling unit, whereby any one of said tools may be selectivelypositioned adjacent the workpiece on said head stock unit.
 84. A machinetool as claimed in claim 47 wherein said rotatably mounted member forretaining said tools is mounted for rotation about two axes which aretransverse to each other.
 85. A machine tool as claimed in claim 84wherein said axes are perpendicular to each other.
 86. A machine tool asclaimed in claim 56 wherein said tooling unit is mounted for rotationabout two axes which are transverse to each other and comprises meansfor securing said plurality of tools about the axes of the tooling unit,whereby any one of said tools may be selectively positioned adjacent theworkpiece on said head stock unit.
 87. A machine tool as claimed inclaim 86 wherein said axes are perpendicular to each other.
 88. Amachine tool for removing material from a workpiece while being rotated,comprising a. a machine base means, b. means mounted on said base meansfor securing at least one tool having a cutting tip, c. a workpieceholder, and d. means supporting said workpiece holder on said base meansfor rotating said workpiece holder about an axis, said axis being at afixed position relative to said workpiece holder, and for moving saidworkpiece holder in at least two orthogonal directions, one of saiddirections being in the direction of said axis, e. said support meanssupporting said workpiece holder comprising a rotatable element havingan axis of rotation perpendicular to the rotational axis of saidworkpiece holder, slide means on said rotatable element for movement insaid axial direction, and means mounted on said slide means rotatablysupporting said workpiece holder, f. whereby with movement of aworkpiece mounted on said workpiece holder the cutting tip of said toolhas access to every point in a predetermined cutting plane.
 89. Amachine tool for removing material from a workpiece while being rotated,comprising a. a machine base means, b. means mounted on said base meansfor securing at least one tool having a cutting tip, c. a workpieceholder, d. means supporting said workpiece holder on said base means forrotating said workpiece holder about an axis, said axis being at a fixedposition relative to said workpiece holder, nd for moving said workpieceholder in at least two orthogonal directions, one of said directionsbeing in the direction of said axis, e. said means supporting saidworkpiece holder comprising a first slide means transverse to saidrotational axis, said workpiece holder being mounted for movement alongsaid first slide means, and a second slide means parallel to saidrotational axis and transverse to said first slide means, said firstslide means being mounted for movement along said second slide means,and f. said means for securing at least one tool compRising furtherslide means for having said tool in a direction transverse to both saidfirst and second slide means, g. whereby said first and second slidemeans permit movement of said workpiece holder in two orthogonaldirections and with movement of a workpiece mounted on said workpieceholder the cutting tip of said tool has access to every point in apredetermined cutting plane.